Old Order
The Old Order is a relgious group primarily active in southeastern Pennsylvania. The group puts a heavy emphasis on family and community, but members are known for being insular towards outsiders. History Pre-War History The Old Order developed from the Pre-War Amish and Mennonites, theological movements that developed from the Anabaptist movement in the 17th century. In the 18th century, they immigrated to the United States due to wars, poverty, and religious persecution in Europe and settled in colonial Pennsylvania, known for its religious tolerance offered by William Penn. Many settled in the area that would become Lancaster County, and the area became known for its Amish population. The area became a tourist destination of sorts in the 20th and 21st centuries due to their presence. Religious mandates prompted the Amish and Mennonites to segregate themselves from the rest of the world and shun the technology and knowledge it developed. That meant that while the rest of the world was driving around in Corvegas, the Amish and Mennonites were traveling in horse-pulled buggies; when the rest world relied on automations to make their lives easier and perform tasks for them, the Amish and Mennonites shunned electricity completely and performed all tasks as their forefathers did; when the rest of the world dressed in Pre-War styles and listened to Pre-War music, the Amish and Mennonites dressed plainly and eschewed music completely. Normally innocently, people flocked to the area to watch these men and women from afar, occasionally interacting with them. Post-War History Amish and Mennonites of Lancaster were relatively unaffected by the nuclear armageddon unleashed by the Great War. Though located in southeastern Pennsylvania, their communities were still almost 100 miles from Philadelphia and avoided the bombs that fell there. Because of their refusal to integrate modern conveniences into their society, the massive EMP waves that followed did not wreak havoc on them. In fact, many Amish and Mennonite communities were so shut off from the rest of the country that they did not know anything had happened until waves of survivors began passing through. The bombs did not devastate the Amish and the Mennonites, but those that survived the bombs did. While the two Anabaptist groups did offer limited help to these passersby that soon began appearing on a daily basis in their communities, tensions often flared. Desperate to live, many of these vagrants turned violent when they saw the Amish and Mennonites had survived into the Post-War world relatively well off. As the days and months passed, these communities fell one by one, unable to fight back due to a combination of their pacifistic religious beliefs and an inability to match the ferocity and firepower of the survivors attacking them- many of whom were banding together at this point to form raider gangs and groups. The Amish and the Mennonites were not completely wiped out, though by the turn of the century, their already small numbers dwindled drastically. The Great Winter of 2130 virtually wiped out both struggling communities, killing vital crops and increasing raider and gang activity. When the snows melted and community leaders took stock of who and what had survived the winter, it became apparent that the small isolated pockets of Amish and Mennonites would not survive. That Sumer, the leader of an Amish community outside in Mount Joy, Mose Fisher, sent messengers to as many surviving communities that he knew of calling for a religious conclave, unheard of among the Amish and Mennonites. A large number of communities sent representatives, and Fisher made the case that the Amish and the Mennonites needed to evolve their beliefs in order to survive in the Post-War world. Many representatives were incensed and left on the spot, but most listened. Fisher did not suggest abandoning their respective religions, but rather, evolving them. First among his doctrinal changes was the prohibition on violence that the Amish practiced. Rather avoiding violence and non-resisting when it found them, Fisher called for the community to be able to take up arms to defend itself. The practice of meidung, shunning and excommunicating those that were perceived to be sinners or eroding the moral fiber of a community, would be ended. The concept of rumspringa would be altered and would refer to those that traveled abroad, interacting with outsiders for the betterment of the community. The concept of nonconformity with the world was relaxed to include many Pre-War concepts. These and other doctrinal issues were discussed and debated, and after three days, all representatives agreed. The Amish and the Mennonites merged together and became a new Anabaptist movement, the Old Order. Very little has actually changed in the years since for Old Order Communities. Their willingness to stand up for themselves has led raiders to think twice before assaulting their communities, and their relaxation on what is considered sinful has opened up numerous economic avenues, but life for these simple folk generally goes on as it had in their father’s day, and his father’s day before that. Beliefs The Old Order has a complex system of theology but virtually none of it is written; it is passed down verbally, from generation to generation, taught by parents to children and teachers to students. The three backbone beliefs of their religion are: baptism, submission, and nonconformity. Baptism occurs when a child is recognized as becoming a man or woman. The group does not accept the idea that a child can have meaningful opinions on theological matters, as children are not fully educated and normally follow the will of their parents. It is only after they undergo some amount of education and gain worldly experience can they truly make these decisions for themselves. Those that get baptized are welcomed into the community as members of the Old Order, while those that do not undergo the ceremony are exiled. Submission is the concept of living by the “rules of God”, as defined by the religious leaders of communities. Submission to these social values maintains order in communities, and it is only through strict order that communities can survive and thrive in the Post-War world. Values such as composure, humility, and industriousness are valued while pride, arrogance, slothfulness are considered sinful. According to certain Bible verses, true believers are not to conform to the ways of the world. The predecessors of the Old Order took this commandment to heart, refusing to adopt time-appropriate modern conveniences, and the group has maintained the decree into the Post-War world. The Old Order eschews robots and other kinds of technology of convenience and anything that causes more physical and emotional pleasure that is deemed acceptable by the community. Culture & Practices The forebearers of the Old Order had a prohibition on violence of any kind, but in the Post-War world, such extreme pacifistic beliefs are a guaranteed death. Violence among the family and community is still strictly banned, but violence against outsiders is allowed under certain circumstances. Threats from the outside, once identified, are brought to the attention of the elders of the community, who debate the merits of confrontation with all able-bodied males. If a consensus is reached that the threat must be dealt with, members of the Old Order ban together to deal with it; if the threat is large enough, different communities ban together to form militias of sort. To maintain and uphold their vow to not conform with the rest of the world, the Old Order has an absolute ban on energy and plasma weapons and a partial ban on other small and long arms. More modern pistols, rifles, an shotguns are banned in favor of older, Pre-War blackpowder weapons. The Old Order manufactures these kinds of weapons to be sed among their different communities, and in many cases, their gunsmiths are the preeminent and most distinguished manufacturers of such Pre-War relics. After belief in God, community is by far the most important part of the Old Order. Their forebearers were always small in number, and at times, a persecuted minority. The Old Order would not have survived into the Post-War world if they had not come together. Members work together, eat together, and worship together. The communal Sunday supper is particularly important, as the entire community comes together after worship services to have a potluck dinner. Relationships Category:Groups